Campus Cleared with Natural Gas Leak

OREM -- Officials have cleared several buildings on Utah Valley University's campus after receiving reports of an odd odor.

University spokesman Brad Plothow said the liberal arts and physical education buildings and the library have been evacuated.

Officials have heard various reports of an odd odor, possibly natural gas, in just the liberal arts building, but all three were evacuated because they're on the same HVAC system.

"They got a reading in one of the liberal arts classrooms here that there was natural gas potentially, and that it was bordering on combustible levels," Plothow said. "When we got that news, the decision was made to evacuate not only the liberal arts building, but physical education building as well as the library."

The Orem City Fire Department was on scene and two students were taken to the hospital as a precaution with complaints of runny noses and itchy eyes.

University spokesman Brad Plothow says firefighters confirmed combustible levels of natural gas in a classroom that dissipated when they turned off a gas supply.

When they turned gas back on, they couldn't detect any leak, and Plothow says the source remains a mystery.

Officials think it came from an outside source and was sucked in by the HVAC system.

Students waited outside the buildings for about two hours while officials investigated.